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With the defection of the traitor Specter from the Republican Party came cheers from the hard Right. "We are better off without him," they said. "We're flushing the RINOs from the party," they asserted. "The Left can't blame us anymore for what government does," they exclaimed. While this may be so -- and perhaps even what the Republican Party needs to motivate it to honestly look at re-evaluating its platform and philosophical strategy, which is being held hostage by an impossible acquiescence to unreasonable individualism -- Specters defection will be horrific for the country in the immediate. Anyone cheering for that on the right side of the aisle is a fool, an idiot or both.

In response to the traitor Specter's self-serving switch of parties, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told CNN's Candy Crowley: (web site)

"Very exciting, very exciting for the American people, because now we can get things done without explaining process...Hopefully now [Republicans] will also extend the hand of friendship so they can work together in a bipartisan way."

This statement is so incredibly disturbing on so many levels it is hard to know where to begin, but if we are going to survive as a Constitutional Republic until 2010 we must understand the hypocritical juxtaposition and ramifications of Ms. Pelosi's statement.

Prior to the 110th Congress, when the Democrats were the minority in the House, Pelosi frequently complained that Democrats were being ignored and that their level of input with regard to crafting legislation was minimized to an almost inconsequential extent. She repeatedly -- on the House floor and during the 2006 campaign cycle -- promised to operate the most ethical and transparent Congress in US history. She continued to espouse her dedication to this promise after Democrats won control of the House.

But after the seating of the 110th Congress, Pelosi saw fit to frequently suspend the committee process in the House, first doing so to accommodate the Democrats' campaign promises of fulfilling a "100 hour" legislative agenda which included: raising the federal minimum wage; "breaking the link" between lobbyists and Congress; reinstituting "pay-as-you-go" budget rules; enacting all of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations; allowing Medicare to bargain directly with drug companies; and expanding federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. And although she eventually had to compromise on many of these issues, the precedent for usurping the committee process was established.

To explain the committee process... (web site)

"Each bill goes through several stages in each house. The first stage involves consideration by a committee. Most legislation is considered by standing committees, each of which has jurisdiction over a particular subject matter... In some cases, bills may be sent to select committees, which tend to have more narrow jurisdictions than standing committees. Each standing and select committee is led by a chair (who belongs to the majority party) and a ranking member (who belongs to the minority party). Committees are permitted to hold hearings and collect evidence when considering bills. They may also amend the bill, but the full house holds the power to accept or reject committee amendments. After considering and debating a measure, the committee votes on whether it wishes to report the measure to the full house."

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